Welcome to our survey!
Hi! We are a research team at George Washington University. This survey will ask you questions regarding your purchase preference for used cars.
This survey will take about 15 minutes to complete. It can be stopped and picked up at any time. Your personal information will be kept confidential and won’t be shared with anyone else. The survey is subdivided in six sub-sections:
Current vehicle information
Future vehicle information
Vehicle fuel type choice questions
Electric vehicle choice questions
Knowledge of electric vehicles
Demographic Information
We greatly appreciate your participation!
Consent
Informed Consent for Participation in a Research Study
You are invited to participate in a research study directed by Dr. John Paul Helveston of the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering at George Washington University (GWU). This study is funded by the Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Participation is entirely voluntary and you may obtain further information regarding this study by contacting us at gwuvehiclegroup25@gmail.com .
The purpose of this study is to better understand vehicle ownership patterns and preferences across different communities. If you choose to participate, you will be asked to complete an online survey, which will take approximately 15 minutes. You may refuse to answer any of the questions and stop participating at any time.
Benefits: The most important reason why someone would like to participate in this study is that they can share their vehicle ownership needs and help inform electric vehicle policies. You will not benefit directly from your participation in the study. However, the benefits to science and humankind that might result from this study include advancing our understanding of consumer decision-making in the vehicle market.
Concerns/Risks: You may not choose to volunteer for this study if you do not want to share information about your vehicle choices and certain personal details. Possible risks or discomforts you could experience during this study include: (1) Although very unlikely, there is a risk of email address information being compromised if it is shared and in case our systems are compromised. (2) Psychological stress could be caused by the time and effort spent answering the survey.
Confidentiality: Every effort will be made to keep your information confidential. However, this cannot be guaranteed. The data will be stored in a secured online database which only the PI and student researchers can access. If the results of this study are reported in journals or at scientific meetings, participants of this study will not be named or identified.
Additional Information: The Office of Human Research of George Washington University, at telephone number (202) 994-2715, can provide further information about your rights as a research participant. Your willingness to participate in this research study is implied if you proceed.
Participation to this survey is voluntary. To take a part in this survey, you must:
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Authorize us to analyze your data exclusively for research purposes.
By clicking on “I Agree”, you confirm that you have reviewed and understood the information provided in the welcome page and this consent page, and agree to participate in the survey.
This study is about the purchase of your next vehicle.
Section 1 of 6
Below are some questions about your household.
We’ll start with a few questions about the vehicles your household owns or leases.
- Please consider all passenger vehicles – including cars, SUVs, vans, and trucks – but exclude motorcycles.
- Your household includes all the persons who occupy the housing unit as their usual place of residence.
- The table below describes each type of passenger vehicle.
| Types of Powertrain | Powertrain Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional |
Gasoline or other liquid-fuel engine, such as diesel or flex-fuel. | Honda Civic, Ford Explorer |
| Gas hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) |
Smaller gasoline engine + electric motor + small battery. Gasoline engine recharges the battery to improve fuel efficiency. | Toyota Prius, Ford Escape Hybrid |
| Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) |
Hybrid that can also be plugged into an electrical outlet to charge the battery. Runs on electricity for a short range (10 – 40 miles), then switches to gasoline. | Kia Niro, Toyota RAV4 Prime |
| Battery electric vehicle (BEV) |
Electric motor only. Must be plugged into an electrical outlet to be refueled. | Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model Y |
The following questions are about the household vehicle you drive most often.
Section 2 of 6
This section asks a few questions about your future vehicle.
You indicated earlier that you are interested in a used for your next vehicle.
| Very unlikely | Somewhat unlikely | Neither likely nor unlikely | Somewhat likely | Very likely | |
| New plug-in hybrid electric vehicle | |||||
| Used plug-in hybrid electric vehicle | |||||
| New battery electric vehicle | |||||
| Used battery electric vehicle | |||||
Section 3 of 6
Vehicle Educational Page
Great Work! Now that you have shared a bit about yourself, we’d like you to consider a scenario in which you can choose a used vehicle from a set of vehicles with different attributes.
Let’s learn about the attributes.
| Types of Powertrain | Powertrain Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional |
Gasoline or other liquid-fuel engine, such as diesel or flex-fuel. | Honda Civic, Ford Explorer |
| Gas hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) |
Smaller gasoline engine + electric motor + small battery. Gasoline engine recharges the battery to improve fuel efficiency. | Toyota Prius, Ford Escape Hybrid |
| Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) |
Hybrid that can also be plugged into an electrical outlet to charge the battery. Runs on electricity for a short range (10 – 40 miles), then switches to gasoline. | Kia Niro, Toyota RAV4 Prime |
| Battery electric vehicle (BEV) |
Electric motor only. Must be plugged into an electrical outlet to be refueled. | Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model Y |
| Range - The maximum distance a vehicle can travel in a full tank / full battery charge. | |
| Purchase price - The total price for the vehicle (in dollars), including down payment, monthly payments, taxes, fees, etc. | |
| Model Year - The actual year the vehicle was made. | |
| Mileage - The number of miles a vehicle has traveled. | |
| Operating Cost (Equivalent Gasoline Fuel Efficiency) - Cost in cents per mile driven of fueling the vehicle. The equivalent fuel efficiency in miles per gallon (MPG) of a conventional gasoline vehicle is displayed in parenthesis. |
Choice Question Demonstration
We will now begin the choice tasks. We will show you six choice questions, starting on the next page. Below is an example of the type of questions you will be asked.
Section 4 of 6
Battery Educational Page
Next, we’d like you to consider a scenario in which you can choose a used battery electric vehicle (BEV) from a set of BEVs with different attributes. Please review some important facts about BEVs and their batteries.
| Vehicle Driving Range and Battery Health - EV batteries gradually lose capacity over time (battery degradation), which reduces the vehicle’s driving range and increases charging time. - The condition of an EV battery is often described using State of Health (SOH), expressed as a percentage. |
Section 4 of 6
Battery Educational Page
Next, we’d like you to consider a scenario in which you can choose a used battery electric vehicle (BEV) from a set of BEVs with different attributes. Please review some important facts about BEVs and their batteries.
| Vehicle Driving Range and Battery Health - EV batteries gradually lose capacity over time (battery degradation), which reduces the vehicle’s driving range and increases charging time. - The condition of an EV battery is often described using State of Health (SOH), expressed as a percentage. |
|
| Battery Maintenance - Battery replacements are rare but can be expensive, costing between $5,000 and $20,000 depending on the model and labor costs. - However, most modern EV batteries are designed to last the lifetime of the vehicle under normal use. |
|
| Battery Warranty - BEVs come with a battery warranty of at least 8 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. - Many batteries continue to perform well beyond the warranty period, though some performance degradation is expected over time. - Most manufacturers will replace the battery when the SOH falls below 70-75% while under warranty. |
Battery Educational Page
Let’s take a moment to learn about the specific attributes of the BEVs that you’ll see in the upcoming choices.
| Mileage - The number of miles a vehicle has traveled. | |
| Purchase price - The total price for the vehicle (in dollars), including down payment, monthly payments, taxes, fees, etc. | |
| Battery refurbishment history - The repair or replacement work that has been done on the vehicle’s main battery. |
|
| Electric range - The maximum distance (in miles) the vehicle can travel on a full battery charge, under typical driving conditions. Battery State-of-Health - How much (in percentages) of the battery’s original capacity remains. |
Choice Question Demonstration
We will now show you six choice questions, starting on the next page. For all choice questions, please assume the used vehicle was built in 2022 and is currently three years old.
Below is an example of the type of questions you will be asked.
| Unimportant | Of little importance | Moderately important | Important | Very important | |
| Vehicle mileage | |||||
| Purchase price | |||||
| Battery refurbishment history | |||||
| Battery range and health | |||||
Section 5 of 6
| Strongly disagree | Somewhat disagree | Neither agree nor disagree | Somewhat agree | Strongly agree | |
| People who are important to me think that I should buy an EV. | |||||
| Driving an EV would eventually result in cost savings. | |||||
| Driving an EV would be beneficial to the environment in the long term. | |||||
| Strongly disagree | Somewhat disagree | Neither agree nor disagree | Somewhat agree | Strongly agree | |
| If I owned a BEV, I would often worry about running out of charge. | |||||
| BEVs are less valuable than gasoline cars on the resale market, because the technology is always advancing. | |||||
| The price of an EV is too high. | |||||
| Strongly disagree | Somewhat disagree | Neither agree nor disagree | Somewhat agree | Strongly agree | |
| Purchasing refurbished EV batteries will minimize negative effects on natural ecosystems. | |||||
| Refurbished EV batteries do NOT perform and function as original EV batteries. | |||||
| Please select "Strongly agree" as your response to this item. | |||||
| Strongly disagree | Somewhat disagree | Neither agree nor disagree | Somewhat agree | Strongly agree | |
| Generally, I am willing to put in extra effort to find lower prices. | |||||
| I like to be among the first people to have the latest technology. | |||||
| I am a person who is fully prepared to take risks. | |||||
Section 6 of 6
Demographic information
We’re almost done! We’d like to ask a few final questions about you, which will be used only for analyzing the survey data.